Slips and packing elements are devices commonly used in packer systems for downhole wellbore applications. Slips attach a tool string, or other tubular members, to a casing, a liner, an open hole or other structure of the wellbore so that the weight of the tubular member being anchored is not supported from the surface. Additionally, slips, by tying tubular members to downhole structures, allow other downhole tools in a tool string to be actuated in response to surface actions on the tool string such as pickup and setdown, for example. A tool that is commonly actuated after slips are set is a packing element.
Packing elements provide an annular seal between a tubular member and a structure of a wellbore, such as a casing, a liner, or an open hole of the wellbore, for example. Packing elements may be used to seal off a section of a well that is no longer productive, or a section of well that could flow unwanted fluids, such as water, into the production stream, for example. As such, the seal integrity of a packing element can have a significant affect on a well's viability. A leaking packing element can be costly for an operator in a number of ways. The leak itself is costly as it adversely affects production or affects the quality of the produced fluid(s). Moreover, since operators have an obligation to reduce money-wasting conditions when they are discovered a repair would be desirable. Repair generally requires that the packing element (and any associated components) be pulled from the well. Retrieval of the packing element to the surface for repair or replacement requires rig time, which is always costly. Add to the foregoing that the cost of repair or replacement of a packing element is generally not planned for as once a packing element is sealed in a wellbore it is intended to remain in place for a long time, possibly a number of years, and it becomes evident that packing element malfunction is clearly undesirable.
Unfortunately, the extreme environmental conditions that exist downhole can, over time, degrade packing elements resulting in the need to replace the packer. Because replacement of the packer requires significant rig time, it is expensive and therefore undesirable.